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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cap — a hat
  5. court — of law
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. net — after costs
  9. cap — a lid
  10. court — for sport
  11. spell — letters
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. last — final
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. court — of a king
  21. net — in sport
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. spell — magic

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com